Cigarroa, Nixon meet in battle of unbeatens

Cigarroa and Nixon will battle it out in a matchup of unbeatens at 7 p.m. Friday at Shirley Field while Martin hits the road to face Carrizo Springs in search of its first win.

The Toros opened the season with their first win since 2017 as they defeated Zapata 20-15 while the Mustangs defeated Martin 33-30 for fifth straight year. Cigarroa hasn’t defeated Nixon since 2010. Not only that, but the Toros haven’t won two straight since 2014. And they know it will be a tough challenge to start the year 2-0 with the Mustangs in the way.

“They are an extremely difficult opponent,” Cigarroa head coach Carlo Hein said. “Coach (Antonio) Villalon and his staff and their players have been working hard this offseason, too. Then to prepare a scout team offense to simulate their offense is hard.”

Stopping Nixon’s Slot-T offense is key for Cigarroa. But what might determine who wins Friday is whichever defensive line plays the best.

Both the Toros and the Mustangs defensive lines got after their respective opponents last week. Cigarroa’s unit created havoc as it totaled a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry as it helped cause Zapata to throw two interceptions. As for Nixon’s group, it too created mayhem as it recorded a sack, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries as it helped pressure Martin into tossing four interceptions.

Cigarroa quarterback Hector Solis and the Toros play Nixon at 7 p.m. Friday at Shirley Field. Both teams opened the season with wins.

Cigarroa quarterback Hector Solis and the Toros play Nixon at 7 p.m. Friday at Shirley Field. Both teams opened the season with wins.

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

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Cigarroa quarterback Hector Solis and the Toros play Nixon at 7 p.m. Friday at Shirley Field. Both teams opened the season with wins.

Cigarroa quarterback Hector Solis and the Toros play Nixon at 7 p.m. Friday at Shirley Field. Both teams opened the season with wins.

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

Cigarroa, Nixon meet in battle of unbeatens

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“It was all heart,” Nixon senior defensive tackle Edwin Gonzalez said. “We knew we had to get after him before he threw the ball. We pretty much executed in that time and moment.”

Cigarroa’s defensive line is an experienced unit as all five contributors are seniors. Players such as Arturo Alvarez, Cesear Martinez and Carlos Ramos have all seen varsity action over the past two to three years.

As for Nixon’s line, it is filled with new faces. Gonzalez was the only returnee who saw significant time last year. Yet newbies such as Jorel Cantu, Kris Hardy and Domingo Mendiola all had an impact in the season opener. Cantu totaled five tackles and two tackles for loss while both Hardy and Mendiola recorded four tackles. Hardy also had two tackles for loss.

While the Mustangs’ line got after it last week, it did experience some mishaps. Gonzalez felt that the unit’s technique wasn’t the best. Not only does Gonzalez feel that way, but so does the entire defense.

“We didn’t pursue to the ball as well as we needed to,” senior linebacker Matthew Kromminga said. “Not shooting through our gaps as fast as we should have. We have some stuff to clean up.”

Nixon feels that if it executes properly, it can come out with a win, especially if the line plays correct technique. However, Cigarroa quarterback Hector Solis feels that his offensive line can keep him safe on Friday.

“It will be a challenge for the offensive line, but I know they can protect me,” Solis said. “I’m confident that they can.”

This week, Hein has been preaching to his team to limit turnovers as Nixon forced six against Martin. And if Cigarroa wants to limit turnovers, it starts within the trenches.

“When you play a team like (Nixon), it will always be a point of emphasis,” Hein said. “There’s a huge emphasis on what's going on up front. Our defensive line has to be up for the task and so does our offensive line because those are two solid groups.

“There line is big and there skill players can break it anytime. Their defense, when they had to, got stops. They created a ton of turnovers last week. Their defense did a phenomenal job.”

While Cigarroa and Nixon aim to stay unbeaten, Martin looks to capture its first win of the 2019 as it travels to Carrizo Springs for a 7:30 p.m. matchup Friday.

The Tigers defeated the Wildcats 40-14 at home last season. Yet they don’t expect it to be a cake walk again this year.

“Carrizo Springs is one of those scary teams,” Martin head coach David Charles said. “They are a 3A team. But those single high school teams scare you because they have a lot of pride.

“It’s their home opener. They played on the road last week. We are anticipating a good football team.”

Carrizo Springs opened its season with a 16-12 win over Dilley last week.

Although Martin is winless to start the year, it came very close to beating Nixon. What hindered the Tigers’ chance to defeat the Mustangs was turnovers. Martin turned over the ball six times, four of which were interceptions by Gerardo Cham.

The sophomore quarterback struggled in his first varsity start. Cham finished the contest 8 of 18 for 108 yards and four interceptions. Yet his teammates don’t expect another performance like that again.

“Cham is young,” Martin senior wide receiver Dean Blondmonville said. “To me, he’s young. He has a lot to learn. He’s still a sophomore. I told him after the game to not to worry about what people said about him after. Just move on and be a better quarterback, which I know he can be.”

Despite a rough performance, Cham did impress on some plays. He completed a 41-yarder to Miguel Sanchez on his second varsity completion. What’s also going to help Cham moving forward is Blondmonville focusing on catching the ball first before turning his head after several drops against Nixon.

“The drops were on me,” Blondmonville said. “It was on me turning my head before catching the ball. I need to make sure I capture the ball.”

If Blondmonville can correct his early-season mistakes, he can be a dangerous dual-threat option for Martin. Although he is a receiver, Blondmonville will be utilized in the run game. The senior ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns against Nixon.

The Tigers have focused on limiting turnovers this week. They are making sure they know which play is which and how to secure the ball.

Even while turning the ball over six times against Nixon, Martin still put up 30 points. That silver lining gives the Red & White hope for what the offense can become if it all clicks together and if they limit turnovers.

“We have a lot of kids who did a lot of good things with the ball,” Charles said. “Mike Sanchez, Juan Lara, Mike Vasquez and Dean all did good stuff with the ball. (Jose Castaneda) and Cham showed some flashes. Once we get everyone settled in and they figure out their place within the offense, we are very excited with the potential we have in terms of moving the ball and scoring.”